CHICAGO — President Barack Obama warned Thursday that the Senate's refusal to begin the confirmation process for his Supreme Court nominee is more than a run-of-the-mill fight with lawmakers: It's a political event that threatens the American judiciary.

In a meeting with University of Chicago law students, Obama argued that Republicans' refusal hold to hearings for Judge Merrick Garland could erode the independence of the courts and public faith in their decisions.

If politics so deeply infuse the process that an “indisputably qualified” jurist can't even get a hearing, Obama said, then “the courts will be just an extension of our legislatures.”

“That,” he said, “erodes the institutional integrity of the judicial branch” and could well lead to a loss of public faith in the courts' rulings.

The town hall was part of Obama's campaign to confirm Garland. By taking the argument to the law school where he once taught constitutional law, Obama made a doctrinal argument while also touting his personal credentials to do so.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., acknowledged the politics at play Thursday. He said Obama would “gloss over the fact” that the new justice would have a dramatic effect on “cherished constitutional rights like those contained in the First and Second Amendments.”

McConnell had announced after Justice Antonin Scalia's death in February that the Senate would not hold hearings or vote on any nomination Obama sent to Capitol Hill in an election year.

But there were signs that Obama's effort is having an effect on some Senate Republicans.

Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., fighting for re-election this year, reminded Illinois voters that he met with Garland by tweeting a photo of the note of thanks he got from Obama.

On Thursday, Obama kicked the argument up a notch.

The debate is not about the direction of the court, but about separation of powers, Obama said.

Garland is “indisputably qualified,” he said, “and nobody really argues otherwise.”

Associated Press contributed.

cparsons@tribune.com